New to everything military

[thenavysong]

Hi all,

My boyfriend of nearly a year (over a year if you count that friends with benefits time..lol) decided to enlist in the Navy in...April of this year. That's when he signed the paperwork, anyway. Who knows how long the military idea was in his head before then!

He will be attending Boot Camp at Great Lakes in 9 days. I know he will do wonderfully, and I am already prouder than hell of him. :)

That being said, I know next to NOTHING about military life. I have classmates who were in the military (my university has a huge veteran population). My grandfather on my mom's side was in the Army at one point, but he was well into retirement by the time I was born.

I have no idea what to expect from all of this, although I am incredibly excited to begin a life as a Navy girlfriend/fiancee/eventually wife.

With only 9 days until he leaves, I am surprisingly....numb, I guess. I have moments of epic sadness (yesterday morning I woke up and was in tears before I was fully awake), moments of anxiousness as to how he'll fare, and moments of being super, SUPER excited to be part of the US Navy family.

Now that I've written a wall of text...here I am. It's an attempt to stay sane for the two months he'll be gone (and, I guess, the longer time he'll be at submarine school).

[VaBchMom]

:confused: What are you talking about?

[DK3]

Hi all,

My boyfriend of nearly a year (over a year if you count that friends with benefits time..lol) decided to enlist in the Navy in...April of this year. That's when he signed the paperwork, anyway. Who knows how long the military idea was in his head before then!

He will be attending Boot Camp at Great Lakes in 9 days. I know he will do wonderfully, and I am already prouder than hell of him. :)

That being said, I know next to NOTHING about military life. I have classmates who were in the military (my university has a huge veteran population). My grandfather on my mom's side was in the Army at one point, but he was well into retirement by the time I was born.

I have no idea what to expect from all of this, although I am incredibly excited to begin a life as a Navy girlfriend/fiancee/eventually wife.

With only 9 days until he leaves, I am surprisingly....numb, I guess. I have moments of epic sadness (yesterday morning I woke up and was in tears before I was fully awake), moments of anxiousness as to how he'll fare, and moments of being super, SUPER excited to be part of the US Navy family.

Now that I've written a wall of text...here I am. It's an attempt to stay sane for the two months he'll be gone (and, I guess, the longer time he'll be at submarine school).

Welcome Aboard!!!! Ask whatever questions you have!?

[robogal2009]

Hi all,

My boyfriend of nearly a year (over a year if you count that friends with benefits time..lol) decided to enlist in the Navy in...April of this year. That's when he signed the paperwork, anyway. Who knows how long the military idea was in his head before then!

He will be attending Boot Camp at Great Lakes in 9 days. I know he will do wonderfully, and I am already prouder than hell of him. :)

That being said, I know next to NOTHING about military life. I have classmates who were in the military (my university has a huge veteran population). My grandfather on my mom's side was in the Army at one point, but he was well into retirement by the time I was born.

I have no idea what to expect from all of this, although I am incredibly excited to begin a life as a Navy girlfriend/fiancee/eventually wife.

With only 9 days until he leaves, I am surprisingly....numb, I guess. I have moments of epic sadness (yesterday morning I woke up and was in tears before I was fully awake), moments of anxiousness as to how he'll fare, and moments of being super, SUPER excited to be part of the US Navy family.

Now that I've written a wall of text...here I am. It's an attempt to stay sane for the two months he'll be gone (and, I guess, the longer time he'll be at submarine school).

This is exactly how I was back in July. Heck I still do not know because all of my experiences recently(with friends and their now former military boyfriend/fiancees/husbands) have all been bad. I'm quickly learning that those do not always happen and those guys were the exception. What kept me going through boot was researching as much as I could about his rate. If you ever need anyone to just talk to just message me.

[thenavysong]

Welcome Aboard!!!! Ask whatever questions you have!?

All right. This one's been eating at me (not necessarily in a bad way), and my google-fu hasn't really helped.

What kind of job options would I have, as a civilian, on-base? I'm not looking for specifics--as in, base X has Y and Z jobs--just some general info. (Obviously, we don't know where home base is quite yet, but I'm graduating college soon and kind of want/need to plan ahead a bit.)

The boy seems quite set on getting me a job on-base. I don't mind this idea, and in fact I think it could be kind of fun. What I don't want is for him to spend all this time trying to get me settled into an on-base job when I'd be able to find a job I'm better qualified for off-base. I am my own person and he realizes that...he just has this idea in his head and I haven't been able to convince him otherwise. :rolleyes:

For what it's worth: I'll have a BS in Criminal Justice, and I intend on getting a certification in Paralegal Studies sometime in the next year or two.


Any info you can share would be awesome. Like I said, google-fu only got me so far.

[DK3]

You would have the same job opportunity that any other civilian would have. With that said, keep in mind what the job environment is currently. Just because your boyfriend joins, it's not going to give you a boost up.

From my understanding, Sue correct me if I'm wrong, as a Navy spouse, you will get preferential treatment for on-base jobs, over civilians. Of course, I'm sure there is a priority lists somewhere for those jobs.

Here are the current opportunities for Norfolk, VA

http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/search.aspx?q=&where=norfolk%2C+va&x=86&y=2&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y

Of course you can go to USAjobs.gov and enter whatever Naval Station he is based to find out specifically what's available.


What is your degree in?

[VaBchMom]

Unfortunately, it's way too long ago for any help from me re jobs. I know I had to take the civil service test (do they still do that btw?) and I wish I could help with more info but I really don't know - I'm so sorry....

[thenavysong]

You would have the same job opportunity that any other civilian would have. With that said, keep in mind what the job environment is currently. Just because your boyfriend joins, it's not going to give you a boost up.

From my understanding, Sue correct me if I'm wrong, as a Navy spouse, you will get preferential treatment for on-base jobs, over civilians. Of course, I'm sure there is a priority lists somewhere for those jobs.

Here are the current opportunities for Norfolk, VA

http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/search.aspx?q=&where=norfolk%2C+va&x=86&y=2&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y

Of course you can go to USAjobs.gov and enter whatever Naval Station he is based to find out specifically what's available.


What is your degree in?

Oh of course. He seems to think it'll be super-easy to get me a job. He's been lucky with having some awesome job security prior to joining the military though. All a matter of perspective, I suppose. I'm more used to having to bust my rear to keep my job(s).

That link helps quite a bit! I'm currently taking a Technical Writing class which will teach me how to do some business-y reports and do***ents, as well as tailoring a resume to a specific position. We're on the resume project right now, so perhaps this link can help me out with that. :)


My degree will be in Criminal Justice. I've taken a few writing classes as well as a few Psychology classes to try and expand upon the things CJ classes have taught me. I figure writing classes never hurt to have. I am looking at getting a certificate in Paralegal or Legal Secretary studies, though, after graduation (and a short break. I'm so close to finishing my CJ degree, but I am SO burnt out).

[VaBchMom]

I can't say that I'd agree that it'll be super easy for you to find a job...it's tough here just like everywhere else.

[thenavysong]

I can't say that I'd agree that it'll be super easy for you to find a job...it's tough here just like everywhere else.

Right? At least one of us in this relationship is an eternal optimist...? :laugh:



Other than that, things have been REALLY busy. My guy leaves Wednesday morning, though he hasn't heard officially what time yet. His recruiter seems like she's never quite on top of things. She usually calls him at the last minute possible. Which will make the leaving quite difficult for him.

We've been trying to get him squared away with the things he needs for processing specifically. I have all of the routing/account numbers for his direct deposits, my phone number for his arrival phone call (he claims to have it memorized, but I'm sure he'll be stressing at that point), his 50$ max, his SS card and his DL...he bought some stamps this evening...

I hope he has everything. Tomorrow is the haircut (I convinced him to just let it grow out for the past couple weeks and shave it all off at once) and last minute packing clothes away. And me drilling him on his Sentry orders...silly guy doesn't quite have the last few down yet.

I'm nervous for him, but I'm also quite excited to see how he'll grow and mature in 9 weeks. It will be quite lonely without his goofy self around though....

[DK3]

The haircut is useless, the Navy will provide him one at no cost while he is in-processing.

He will be getting to meps early in the morning to undergo a shippping physical. After that, he will play the hurry up and wait game where he will leave in the afternoon. He will not get to Great Lakes until late late in the evening (midnight or later), where he will get maybe a couple of hours of sleep then the next morning, all hell breaks loose and they begin tearing him down in order to rebuild him.

When you see him again in 9 weeks, he will definately be a different person than the one that you see leaving. After going through boot camp, I can say that it definately changed me. Although it is a positive change.

[VaBchMom]

DK - you mean that happened to Michael too and that's why I don't recognize him? That and all of the training he's been undergoing?? :laugh: :eek:

[DK3]

That's it!

[VaBchMom]

I'm glad ya figured that out....I was wondering. :cheesy: